FILE – Curtis Wayne Sagmoen is escorted into a British Columbia Sheriff Service vehicle as rallier shout “No more stolen sisters” marking the end of the first day of his preliminary inquiry in Vernon Law Courts Monday, Oct. 22. The inquiry is scheduled to wrap up Tuesday, Oct. 23. (Parker Crook/Morning Star)

Man accused of assaulting women pleads guilty after charge downgraded

Curtis Wayne Sagmoen also faces a series of charges including alleged assaults of escorts in B.C.’s North Okanagan

A man who faces a series of charges including alleged assaults of escorts in British Columbia’s North Okanagan has pleaded guilty to assault in an unrelated incident involving a sex worker in Maple Ridge in 2013.

The court heard that Sagmoen responded to an advertisement posted by the woman on Craigslist and the pair got into a dispute over money, which led to her sustaining an injury to the back of her head.

The 38-year-old man was sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years’ probation but his jail time is considered already served because he remains in custody on the separate allegations.

Sagmoen faces a series of other charges including assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon, but none of the allegations in those cases have been tested in court.

Police have said the alleged victims worked as escorts in the North Okanagan and advertised their services online.

When Sagmoen was first charged in October 2017, police issued a warning to the general public and sex workers to take extra precautions for their safety around Salmon River Road in a rural area north of Vernon.

It’s the same area where police uncovered the remains of missing 18-year-old Traci Genereaux while searching a 10-hectare farm in the North Okanagan that a title search shows belongs to Wayne and Evelyn Sagmoen.

Sagmoen’s lawyer told provincial court Monday that he lives at the same address where the search occurred with his parents when he is not incarcerated.

At the time, police said Genereaux’s death was suspicious but they have not released a cause of death. No charges have been laid in the Genereaux case and police have not named a suspect.

Police have not made a link between the search and the public warning issued in October 2017.

In December, Sagmoen was given an absolute discharge in a separate case in Vernon after pleading guilty to a single count of mischief. The discharge means no conviction will be placed on his record.

He was originally accused of mischief under $5,000 for wilfully placing spikes or nails on a spike belt to damage the tires of a vehicle before pleading guilty to the lesser offence.